Protesting villagers in southern China said they will march on government offices this week unless the body of a local leader is released and four villagers in police custody are freed.

The 13,000 residents of Wukan, in the wealthy province of Guangdong, are in open revolt against officialdom and have driven out local Communist Party leaders who they say have been stealing their land for years.

Many local businesses have been closed for the past week while schools have been shuttered as riot police blockade the village, which has for months been the scene of occasionally violent protests over land seizures.

Authorities have vowed to crack down on the instigators of the latest unrest, which was triggered by the arrest nine days ago of five villagers, one of whom died last Sunday in police custody.

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  China, China village in fullscale revolt, Guangdong, ousts Communist leadership, Wukan